


Getaway Car

by BunnyJess



Series: Reputation [8]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Birds of Prey (Comic), Black Canary (Comics), Green Arrow - All Media Types
Genre: Anxiety, BAMF Alfred Pennyworth, Blood, Bruce Wayne can't parent, Bruce Wayne is a Good Dad, Day trips, Dinah Lance is a fabulous mum, Dinah loves Jason, Dinah runs to Gotham, Fighting, Gen, He's trying guys, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Infection, Jason has returned, Medical Procedures, Oliver Queen Being an Asshole, Protective Dinah Lance, Wounds, but he's only mentioned - Freeform, chilli dogs and milkshakes, jason is 16
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-04 01:45:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14582214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BunnyJess/pseuds/BunnyJess
Summary: Dinah has run to Gotham to get away from Ollie when she finds a bird she once thought broken.





	1. Chapter 1

As vigilantes in Gotham it was easy to feel like you were flying, even if you never got further than a few rooftops. Black Canary was flying around Gotham with the newly formed Birds of Prey after she’d run from Ollie and Star City. It was all too easy to return to her birth city; you could get out of Gotham but it never really got out of you. A small part of the volatile, dirty, smog-ridden city held onto your heart making nowhere else feel quite like home. She’d left the motel Ollie had found her in back in Star and just ran. She ran back to where her heart rested unable to watch the man tear himself apart in a motel bar over his incompetence as a dad. It was as she was bounding across the rooftops, in a city that lived in an eternal state of shades of grey, that she heard the sounds of fighting. The patrol route she was on was supposedly clear as Barbara had planned it as such. Jumping around the fire escapes and window ledges she managed to get a better view.

As Dinah looked down at the group of thugs taking on a sixteen year old boy while he protected a younger kid she knew the light of freedom was suddenly upon her. She flipped down and joined in the fight, taking down a couple of the men within the blink of an eye. She and the teenager quickly slipped into formation, fighting back to back and clearing out the rest of the threats with ease. In stopping the worst of crimes she found herself having the best time as she span on her heel to get a look at the other fighter.

Black Canary placed her hands on the boy’s shoulders and took in his face. It was older than she remembered, and far more scarred, but she’d have known the Gothamite anywhere. “Jason?” Shock ran through her as the boy who’d died stood before her. She pulled him into a fierce hug which he gladly returned. It was only after parting a couple minutes later that she heard him speak.

“Bruce.” His entire body crimpled at the utterance of his father’s name and she was thrust back to a night years ago when she’d held the same boy in her arms. He’d fought with Bruce about how to act as Robin, how you can’t save everyone and can’t be so violent. She’d held him as he’d cried himself to sleep with her whispering promises of better days. Six months later he’d gone missing in Qurac on the hunt for a birth mother who betrayed him. Only a few weeks later he’d died. Dinah had never forgiven herself for allowing the boy to return to such an emotionally inept guardian. She’d blamed herself for him needing to reach out to a woman who’d already abandoned him when she’d been there willing to take him on.

“Is it Bruce you want to see? You don’t have to see him Jason. You’ve always had a choice.” Dinah wanted to give him a reason to leave his father. She wanted this boy who was back by some miracle to let her be the mother she knew she could be. He looked up at her with his big blue eyes and she saw every memory of their time together flash through him as he was drawn out of his amnesic state. “Dinah is that really you? Never hallucinated you before. Think my mind thought you were too precious.” She pulled him into another hug, holding him securely to her chest she grappled up to a roof.

“Jay, you didn’t answer my question. Do you want me to take you back to B?” She knew she should return him to his father, but part of her couldn’t forget all the times he’d come running to her after Bruce’s harsh words. It was never spoken about within the League but Dinah had her suspicions that something must have been said in the days leading up to his trek across the world. Her heart wasn’t willing to return the boy to the man who’d caused him to flee to his own death.

“I asked for you…at the end. I remember asking for you and B. I knew,” his breath caught as he remembered those final moments. “I knew he wouldn’t make it. I knew you had no clue where I was. I just wanted to get an apology out there for you, hoped the universe would give you some good fortune.” He shuddered in her arms and she moved just enough to see half his face, his eyes filled with unshed tears. “Oh my boy; do you remember what I told you the first time you ran to me?” He shook his head at her question. “Well I told you that there’d always be a place for you with me. I know people say nothing good ever starts in a getaway car, but I got away from Ollie and it’s led me to you so I think we can both agree that statement is rubbish.” She heard Oracle in her com trying to get an answer but Dinah couldn’t bring herself to burst the little bubble she had on the roof. She feared that talking to Oracle would cause all of what she’d just experienced to disappear.

Jason pulled away from Dinah but took hold of her hand. “I want to see him but I don’t want to live there. I, I remember all what he said before I ran. I was benched as Robin and had failed him, disappointed him.” He looked down at his feet, “I was going to come to you, and then I found Willis’ old diaries that held Shelia’s name. I should have come to you.” She tipped his head up and smiled down at the black haired boy she’d mothered in the past and knew what he’d asked would be what he needed. Now she just had to convince Bruce to go along with it, after running all his tests on the boy.


	2. The next day.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinah and Jason have their fist day as Mother and Son, after an interesting meeting with Bruce and Alfred that is.

The talk with Bruce had been confusing and explosive. He’d run every test he could think of to confirm that the boy sat beside Dinah was Jason. All came back saying that the boy he’d buried six months earlier was the same boy. The usually stoic man had felt hope well in his chest at getting his son back, his Robin back. Then it had come crashing down around him as the boy told him that he was going to live with Dinah, something he’d apparently considered prior to his death when Bruce had benched him as Robin. He wanted his son with him, not with a woman who continually ran around with _Oliver Queen_. The argument had been in full swing until Alfred stepped in.

Alfred had seen Dinah gearing up to us her Canary Cry as Bruce was refusing to let her talk or reason with him. The old butler had walked up and placed a gentle hand on Jason’s shoulder then turned to his sort of son. “Master Bruce that is quite enough out of you,” he turned back to Jason and crouched so he was eye level. “Master Jason we would love to have you home and you’re always welcome here. However, it is clear you need a mother figure in your life and I’m sure you’ll be very happy with Miss Dinah. Please remember to keep in touch and you’re always welcome back no matter the time of day.” With that he stood and went to pack up some items for Jason. He knew the young boy well and knew he’d struggle to pick what to pack as he worried about having too much stuff or the items costing too much.

Dinah let out a beaming smile at Alfred’s words and went straight over to Jason, hugging the small boy to her chest. They’d always been close as he’d felt excluded by the Titans and Young Justice teams. She pressed a kiss to his scruffy, curly, black hair and looked over at Bruce. The man was deep into his brooding Batman self, having been scolded by his father figure. She rolled her eyes at his behaviour.

“Jesus Christ Bruce, he is still your son,” she pulled back from the hug just enough to look Jason in the eyes as he looked up at her. “How would you feel about us both coming here for lunch every Sunday?” He nodded and mumbled something under his breath. “I’m sorry Jay I missed that.”

“I’d like that. ‘m gon’ miss you Dad but I just,” Jason couldn’t find the words to finish as Bruce had come over and knelt down in front of him. He held his son’s hands in his own; his larger hands completely enveloping the small hands of the sixteen year old. “I’m going to miss you too Jay-lad. I’ll be looking forward to Sunday and you can tell me all about what you’ve been up to, yeah?” He rose and looked at Dinah.

“Where are you both going to live? I have a penthouse at the top of Wayne Tower that you’re both welcome to use. It’s only there for if I stay late at the office so I never use it. I’ll also give you cash each week and once he’s ready I can help you arrange tutors so he can continue his education.” Dinah knew that Bruce was generous but she was dumbfounded by all he was willing to do to help them both. She could only nod her agreement at a loss for words. Luckily Alfred reappeared and informed them that the Bentley Continental GT was loaded up with Jason’s things and ready to go. Both men gave the teenager one more hug as they stood at the large oak door. They watched as Dinah slipped into the driver’s side and checked that Jason had his seatbelt on. The little moment reassured Bruce that his son was in good hands, he was also reassured as Dinah was a trained therapist and could help Jason with his PTSD that spawned from his childhood and the obvious trauma of his death.

Dinah drove the lavish car through the city and noticed the boy beside her was pulling himself further and further in to his mind. He had curled his legs up on the seat so that he was as small as possible, trying to not be noticed or to disappear into the background. She decided against going to their new home in that second and turned to go to a local diner that she knew he’d love. The place was so good that Dinah would happily shoot Ollie with one of his own arrows to save the place from aliens. She parked up and saw Jason had started chewing his bottom lip and that he was scratching his left wrist. Opening his door she took his hand and led him into the diner.

As it was between lunch and dinner the place was quiet enough not to overwhelm but not quiet enough to be creepily eerie. They picked a booth where both exits were clearly visible and away from the other few families in the place. Two glasses of water appeared along with their waitress, Gemma. Dinah watched Jason sweep a guarded gaze over the young woman and try to hide behind the menu. She figured it was because of the scars on his face, he may have come back healed but the scars still remained. After requesting a few more minutes Gemma wandered off to see to the other patrons.

“You know, I think I’ve tried one of each type on this menu and it’s all so good.” Dinah said in a low voice, trying to draw the dark haired boy from behind the barriers he was erecting quickly. “Personally I’m thinking of getting an everything burger with a chocolate shake. I might even go for one of their sundaes for after. What about you?”

“Chilli dog, cheese and bacon chips, peanut butter shake. Dunno if I want anyfin else yet.” He finally said. He managed to lower the menu with Dinah noticing that a couple of the nails on his right hand were bloody. She glanced at his left arm and saw the large patch he’d scratched so much the top layer of skin was missing. She took some napkins and pulled his left arm onto the table. Jason stiffened up, trying to pull the arm away, as she wet some of the napkins and began cleaning the wound. She then pulled a bandage from her bag and wrapped the arm. “’m sorry.” He mumbled out.

“Jay it’s okay. I understand things can get a bit too much.” She took his left hand, her thumb rubbing his knuckles. “You can trust me okay. I won’t sell you out to anyone.” He nodded at her and used some more napkins to clean his nails. Once their orders were placed they started trying to plan a menu for the next couple of days, knowing that they’d be getting a full roast on Sunday courtesy of Alfred. She loved the spark that appeared as he realised he could cook whatever he wanted and that she was giving him free reign over their food choices.

When Gemma appeared with their milkshakes Jason jumped in his seat at the sudden noise of them being placed down. He’d been so absorbed with writing their shopping list that he’d forgotten his surroundings. Dinah watched as his hand clenched around the pen and nearly snapped the plastic. He was shaking slightly and had gone pale. She rested her hand atop his again and poured out a glass of his shake. He drank it down quickly because he was starving, despite eating well for the past three meals. Dinah knew it’d be a slow process building his muscle up and that he may never reach his full height/weight potential as he’d been malnourished for nearly all his life, except the four years he’d been at the manor. Even then Bruce had had the boy on a strict re-feeding routine to prevent sickness for the first year and a half.

When their food finally arrived they ate in comfortable silence. Jason snagged a couple of Dinah’s onion rings and she just pretended not to notice. The food was excellent, as always, and they’d quickly cleared their plates. The diner was so popular that they’d put in an ice-cream section to the front counter a few years ago. It meant the selection of milkshakes had grown from four to over fifteen and their dessert selection had grown by the same percentage.

Dinah chuckled as she looked over the sundae themes. “They’ve got a Robin one, bet that’s named after the second one.” She winked at the boy and watched him blush. He’d never accepted that the people of Gotham loved him as much, sometimes more than, the first Robin. He cared more about the people and victims, than about the crimes, which had won their hearts. Batman and Nightwing had never reinforced this praise with him however.

 “Think ‘m jus’ gon’ get the Neapolitan one.” He spoke quietly. Dinah nodded and placed their order. She’d picked the Robin one, despite there being both Batgirl and Black Canary themed ones. She knew they usually had little images of the heroes that topped the desserts and wanted to prove it was of the second Robin. They managed to make some small talk while waiting, while finishing off the shopping list. Dinah made the decision that they’d do the shopping before they went to the penthouse as they could then spend more time settling in.

As the two extravagant desserts were placed down Gemma turned to Dinah, “you picked a good one there. We all miss him in the Narrows.” She got a wistful look on her face as she looked at the image of the second Robin. “He cared about us, understood it weren’t out fault for living in the poorest part. Shame such a good kid got taken out in such a vicious way.” Gemma let out a sad chuckle and apologised then walked away. Dinah was watching Jason carefully as he let Gemma’s words filter through his doubt and self-hatred. He smiled a small, proud smile at her and took a large spoonful of his ice-cream. Dinah cleaned off the end of the cocktail stick and slipped the image into her bag, wanting to pin it up in their new home. She was already planning a large pin board for all their memories and figured it was a good place to start. Dinah was also planning on asking Barbara to search for any photos of her and Jason together to place on the board and around their house. She was determined to show Jason just how loved and wanted he was, Catherine had managed it until she got ill but no other woman had managed it in his short life.

The supermarket was busy once they finally made it in. Dinah had never realised how hard it’d be to park such a car but the Bentley was slightly larger than she was used to. The noise immediately made Jason want to start scratching again, this time however; he reached out and took Dinah’s hand. He let her presence soothe his fried nerves and tried to focus on the lasting taste of his Neapolitan sundae. The shoppers occasionally gave the pair weird looks, wondering why a boy his age was clinging to his mum. Jason knew he didn’t look sixteen; he’d always struggled to look his age with being so small; but the stares were just highlighting how scarred he was. Dinah tried to pull him into picking out all the food, wanting to get all the right ingredients but she could sense Jason reaching his limit. By the time they were half way through the list she knew he’d had enough, turning to him she gave him the Bentley’s keys with instructions to _only_ sit in the car, _not_ drive it anywhere. He zipped out the shop so fast that she felt a pang of guilt for not sending him off sooner. She knew exposure to the shop could help the obvious anxiety he was facing but she’d not realised how severe it was. Making a mental note to get to the bottom of what happened the second time he was living on the streets Dinah sped through the remainder of the list.

When Dinah reached the car she noticed that Jason had reclined the seat as much as he could and was curled up fast asleep. Getting the shopping into the car as silently as possible she managed to not wake him up, even when she started the car. As they drove back towards Wayne Tower Dinah kept glancing over at the small boy, checking he was breathing as he’d not moved. Once they reached the car park she used Bruce’s space and managed to scoop Jason into her arms and carried him to the lift that led only to the penthouse. It was locked with a code that Alfred had told her earlier in the day, so they both knew they were secure in the building. It was the only access to the penthouse aside from the front door that opened out to look over the executive offices. The only two people that occupied that floor were Bruce and Lucius Fox, along with their assistants who usually followed the men around the building anyway. Dinah quickly found one of the three master suites and tucked Jason into the super king bed. Writing him a note explaining she was bringing the shopping up and then moving their stuff in which she left by his bed, she then left him to sleep.

Dinah knew what Gotham streets were like and how difficult it was to live on them, especially as a child. The weather was as temperamental as the villains and gangs that tried to lure the kids into their armies. Kids were easy fodder to test their latest drugs on, as well as easy to sell for a quick buck. It had always amazed her that Jason had survived three years on the streets without ending up in a gang or being kidnapped. He was a smart, quick thinking kid who showed a resourcefulness that outmatched Bruce and most other heroes she’d met.

By the time Jason managed to wake the sun had set and the house was pleasantly warm. There was the smell of cakes baking filling the air and he noticed that his bathroom light was on so the room wasn’t in total darkness. Upon waking he’d initially panicked thinking a John had taken him somewhere he couldn’t escape, then his eyes had fallen on Dinah’s handwriting and he relaxed instantly. He felt a love for her that he’d not felt for a parent before; Catherine, Willis, and even Bruce had never left him little notes to reassure him as to their whereabouts. He’d only discovered Willis was in prison because some kid had asked him when his dad was getting out while they were in maths class. Catherine had disappeared for days at a time once her illness had taken hold as she desperately tried to gather some savings to pass on to Jason in an attempt to ease his loss. Bruce just expected his kids to read his mind and wasn’t the best as communicating. Jason carefully slipped the note into his pocket and, after a quick detour to the bathroom, went to explore the rest of the house.

The penthouse in Wayne Tower was huge. It sat as a mezzanine floor over the two offices and conference room below. It had three master suites, along with a fourth king sized bedroom. There was a large sitting room with open-plan state of the art kitchen taking up one large chunk of space. The kitchen also had a door that led to the spacious dining room. There was a fully equipped gym, along with an office that was essentially a mini Batcave, and a balcony. The balcony had enough space for a patio with barbeque and a large grassed area that was partially separated by a beautiful flowerbed. Jason hadn’t been to the penthouse since he’d first become Bruce’s ward, he’d been being shown around the building and noticed the landing above his future fathers office.

Once he’d checked every room was how he remembered it he went and found Dinah in the kitchen icing cupcakes. They were nowhere near as neat as Alfred’s but they looked tasty all the same. She slid one she’d finished over to him and chuckled as he took a bite and swore at how good they were. In the time Jason had been asleep, Dinah had managed to unpack all the stuff Bruce had had sent from her old flat, along with everything of Jason’s that wouldn’t go in his room. She’d even put up the corkboard and pinned on the Robin flag from lunch. She kept quiet as Jason wandered over to it and read the hastily written title ‘Our Memories’, then watched him pull the note from his pocket and pin it in place next to the picture. He had a sad sort of smile on his face as he turned back to her.

Before Dinah got a chance to ask what was wrong Jason spoke. “No one has ever done somethin’ like that for me ‘fore.” He shrugged his shoulders and slipped onto one of the stools at the counter. “It’s nice, makes me feel,” he flapped his hands as he searched for the words. “Don’t know. Wanted or somethin’, like you really don’ mind me being ‘ere.” Dinah couldn’t help but smile as Jason’s deep Gotham accent. It was something she knew that only came out when he was either exceptionally tired or feeling extremely comfortable. In this case it was both reasons, though she didn’t know that. Jason had always felt comfortable around the female hero; as he did with most of the women heroes he’d met. They understood his anger and attitude better than any of the male heroes who were often too idealistic to recognise his experience with true evil. Dinah walked around the counter with her own cupcake and slipped her arm over his shoulders, pulling him into her side.

“Well kid, it’s because you are wanted and I’m overjoyed that we’re going to fill that board up with memories.” She put her cupcake down and ruffled his black hair, noticing that it needed a cut. He looked up at the blonde woman, smiling in a way she’d rarely seen. His eyes were sparkling and he looked so open and happy that Dinah vowed there and then that she wanted to help him smile like that every day.


	3. Badges solve everything.

It took a couple of weeks for Dinah and Jason to settle into a routine, especially with Jason waking up screaming nightly from horrific night terrors. They’d shake him up so badly that he’d only fall back to sleep once the sun was high and her arms were holding him tightly on the sofa. She’d noticed that, despite the large size of the bathroom, he always had the door open to his room so he wasn’t confined. The same was with his bedroom; even once he was settled in to sleep he’d leave the door open so the light from the hallway could filter in. He loved the curtains open as soon as it was light out, even if they still needed the lights on inside. She noticed that his hands seemed to ache and that, despite having no injuries from his death due to whatever power had forced him back, one of his hands seemed to be running hotter than it should.

Dinah had tried to take Jason along to Leslie’s clinic but the waiting room had been too cramped and confined for him with not enough natural light. She noticed his jogging foot and the gentle tap of his fingers against her arm. As she looked closer she could see his eyes darting around the room but not seeing anything while his breathing slowly worked itself up and sweat crept across his brow. She’d dragged him out of there and called the doctor on the way to a park. As soon as they made it to the open space she saw Jason visibly relax. It was midmorning on a week day and so the park was almost empty, the only other people were a small group of mothers who were clearly trying to tire their toddlers out while having a therapy session. She guided him towards a bench and they sat waiting for Leslie to come and find them. It hadn’t taken long, the doctor claiming she had to rush out for a medical emergency, not wanting to leave Dinah waiting.

When Leslie had looked the boy over she’d been stunned into silence for five minutes as she quietly began to sob. She’d known Jason long before he’d been taken in by Bruce as she’d spent years patching up him and Catherine. Dinah had calmly explained all her and Bruce had been able to work out as Leslie traced her hands gently over his face, down his arms and took his hands in hers. It was while Dinah was going through all the tests Bruce had run, including the DNA confirmation, that Leslie noticed the slight swelling and drastically raised temperature of his hand. She turned it over a few times and ran her fingers over it, applying pressure and generally examining the knuckles.

“It’s certainly infected but I won’t know for sure if there is any residual particles from when you du-” she stuttered as she tried get past the words, “when you dug yourself out. You’ll need an x-ray and probably IV antibiotics but I can administer them at the manor.” Jason began to pull away from her, fear painting his features and Dinah noticed he’d started picking at his skin. She laid a hand over his, stilling his movements then pulled out what was necessary to clean the newest abrasion he’d made.

“Uh, thanks Les but we’re not actually at the manor. We’re in the WE penthouse, the one at the top of Wayne Tower.” She spoke with a protectiveness that fetched up vague memories of when Catherine had tried to talk Willis down before the beatings had turned bad. He leaned into her touch, finding her safe and grounding. “That big place is a little too much right now, not enough open space and it’s a bit gloomy to be fair.” She managed to add a light joking tone, relaxing the doctor. They discussed everything a little more and agreed that Jason would use the x-ray machine in the clinic so long as it was early morning and they were the only ones there and then Leslie would come back to the penthouse with any findings and to remove any debris. She came by the penthouse a couple of hours later to start the antibiotics while they waited for the next day to get the x-ray done.

There was wood from the casket and other remnants sealed into his hand. With a nerve block for pain management Leslie was able to clean the wound out but, due to the drainage and wound size she had to pack the wound and leave it open. She upped his antibiotic dosage and added in a second type. She wanted to cover all her bases, despite taking samples to test. With his hand carefully wrapped up Dinah sent Jason to bed early, hoping the added few hours would increase the overall number he managed before he woke screaming about the Joker.

Despite the bandage and his twice daily antibiotics, she still took him out for the day. She’d fallen more in love with him as her son when she’d caught sight of the happiness and awe on his face when they walked into the aquarium. He made sure to study every piece of writing in the place and look at every animal. She promised to take him back once his hand was healed so he could do all the interactive parts such as; hold a starfish, stroke a ray, feel the turtles. He had to keep his arm in a sling so his hand could remain elevated and drain naturally, she’d noticed he’d been self-conscious about it, until she’d pinned a badge from the aquarium on it. Despite already using Bruce’s black card to buy more books on marine life than she thought anyone needed (apart from a marine biologists) and a few soft toys; she’d turned straight around and purchased every different type of pin they had. Seeing the badges decorate the sling, and his face, made her heart thump even more for him.

That night as she ran her fingers through his hair and stayed with him while he drifted off to sleep she failed to see how anyone could have denied him the simple pleasure of knowledge. From what she’d witnessed it was clear that even Bruce hadn’t taken him on simple day trips, too focused on his own mission. Once he’d finally fallen asleep she tucked a shark teddy under his arm, kissed his forehead and slipped out the room. It was as she made her way back into the living room that she noticed the Gotham Aquarium postcard pinned on their board, along with a slightly torn label he’d clearly torn from one of the antibiotic bottles. Pulling her laptop towards her as she slouched onto the sofa she began searching for other days out they could go on, along with overnight trips once his antibiotics were finished.

With Ivy locked up in Arkham they visited the Gotham Botanical Garden and take in the beautifully wide variety of plants and flowers. She watches Jason carefully take photos of the blooms or plants he wants to draw once he’s got his dominant hand back in use and makes a note to get some of the pictures printed out to decorate their hall with. Her fist ends up crammed in her mouth stifling her laugh as Jason gripes about how he’d thought it was a stereotype for every place to have a gift shop when they make it through the one in a building to the side of the Gardens. His comments stop when two more badges are added to his sling and Dinah gets him two reference texts to aid his artwork. That night she spots another postcard he’d slipped off to buy for their trip pinned up.

A bit of delving through their local cinema’s website shows her a Thursday set aside every two weeks to show the films while catering for people who have special needs. She’d wanted to take Jason to the cinema but knew he’d struggle in the blacked out theatre but this was perfect. The lights were only partially dimmed and the films weren’t shown as loud as they normally would be. That night she booked two tickets for them to see the latest Disney film, not caring that it’d be ‘for kids’ as she was excited to see it for herself. She knew it’d be a contrast to the cinema at the manor, with no Alfred to get them special combinations of popcorn or extra comfy armchairs to relax in, yet it was something she wanted to do as his mother. She wasn’t sure when she’d started to see him as her son in more of a way than Roy had ever been, more than he’d ever been before his death, the revelation didn’t surprise her. In fact it just made her more determined to bring him joy while he was healing and to show him what a mothers love really meant. She knew if anyone tried to make her pick between Ollie’s life and Jason’s, she’d pick Jason every time. She’d even pick his life over her own if it came down to it.

It took another couple of weeks for his hand to start showing decent progress and reach a point where Leslie was able to create new wound edges and close it up. The infection was fully gone and he’d regained a spring in his step that both women remembered from his time as Robin. Bruce had also spent that time setting the story up for how the ‘dead Wayne heir’ was actually alive; using a turn of mistaken identification of the beaten body and Jason being released from kidnappers. The story wasn’t released to the press; only to those who could give Jason his life back with them also agreeing to sign privacy agreements so the boy could have a few months without paparazzi following his every move. Dinah was placed onto the Wayne Enterprise payroll as an excuse for her living in the tower; in case anyone saw them coming and going which would be difficult with the way Bruce had had the penthouse designed when he renovated the large building. He’d needed the privacy to be able to carry out his night-time duties if he got caught up in the office during a siege. The penthouse acted as a safe house of sorts so Lucius could hide there and say Bruce was with him, allowing Batman to help with the situation.

The sling was finally off and Dinah was both happy and sad to see it go, until she saw that Jason had transferred all the badges to his messenger bag and its strap. He wanted to carry on the tradition they’d created in their many trips around Gotham as they slowly started to spread further out. The board was now showing a side of Gotham that Jason had never dreamed of experiencing. During his time as Robin he’d been to the attractions and museums; but that meant someone was causing trouble so he couldn’t look around. When he’d been younger it’d been too expensive for his mum to take him that far out from the Alley so he’d only really gotten to experience the public library near them. Dinah was helping him reclaim the childhood he’d lost little by little while letting his love of learning flourish.

She was surprised that he’d not mentioned school to her in all the weeks they’d been together, despite his clear desire to soak up all the information he could during their trips. She started to research tutors for him, on the off chance he did mention it, along with schools that she’d be able to get to quickly if he had a panic attack or felt too anxious to continue his day. In the end it’d been Dick during one of the Wayne Sunday lunches who fetched the subject into discussion. Dinah watched as Jason paled and he started to pick at his skin. The table was between them and in that moment it felt as vast as an ocean as she watched her son pick and panic with her unable to reach him. She pushed her chair back intending to go to him when he’d moved in a flurry of movement and landed in her lap; it was just another reminder to her that he’d been trained by Batman but had also learnt to move quickly and silently long before then if he was to escape Willis’ swinging fists. One of her arms wrapped around him as he burrowed into her warmth, the other holding his hand still to help him stop tearing into his forearm. She looked down at Jason and knew exactly what she needed to do.

“We’re going to home school; we’ll see what he wants to do for college once he gets there. It’s not going to be done with an army of tutors either, before you start Bruce, that’s the exact opposite of what _our_ son needs right now.” She moved her hands to run through his curling black locks and felt him tap out thanks in Morse code to her. They’d learnt it together after seeing an exhibit on WWI at Gotham’s history museum. She didn’t notice the shock and surprise over how casually she’d called Jason her and Bruce’s son and she was too focused on the small teenage boy in her lap. “He needs a chance to study what he wants. I’m sure you saw his bag when we came in and all the badges already decorating it, well he’s amazed me with how quickly he’s learning everything we discover on our day trips. We even had to strip the only bedroom without an ensuite and turn it into a library as a place for him to study and read.”

“Dad,” Jason’s small voice finally croaked out once his breathing was back under control. “Mum’s right. School would be too busy and too confined right now. Even this room is a bit too covered in wood for me to be comfortable.” Dinah had felt him shudder as he described the dining room at the manor. “Master Jason, thank you for telling us. From now on I’ll set up Sunday Lunch in the kitchen, I can reduce the formality of a main meal to ease my grandson’s worry.” Alfred’s strong voice cut through. Bruce was looking even more shocked as he’d not heard Jason call him son since Dinah had first returned the boy home and he’d been arguing with her in the cave. It’d been one of those titles that Bruce’s kids liked to float around, all of them used it but not exclusively except for Jason until after his death. Now as he looked around at the dark oak panelling on the walls and the large mahogany table and chairs he realised Jason had probably reverted to calling him Bruce as he’d done when he’d first arrived at the manor because of how uneasy he’d felt to be confined in a wooden box again, despite the substantial size difference. A small wooden coffin and a large wood lined dining room could easily be mistaken by his PTSD and he kicked himself for not moving the dinners sooner.

“You can learn how ever you want Jay-lad. I’m not going to force you into anything.” Bruce shot Dick a glare as he scoffed and turned an appreciative smile on Tim when it was clear the newest Robin had kicked him under the table. “I love you son and will do whatever it takes to help you heal, to help you be happy. Your mum and I both will.” Jason blinked at him in a way similar to a baby owl when Bruce had finished, the casual way he’d agreed that Dinah was his mum as much as he was his dad making hope for the dysfunctional and abnormal family working. It wasn’t every day that two people only connected by jobs that involved them dressing up in leather and Kevlar to save the world had joint parental responsibility for a child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ollie will be appearing soon...there might be glitter involved.


	4. Chapter 4

For their first overnight trip Dinah had booked them into a little B&B by the sea. She’d not wanted to plan anything major just in case it was all too much for Jason. Instead she’d figured a couple of days to collect shells, skim stones, and try not to burn their mouths on piping hot donuts would be enough. The universe had other ideas. They’d just started a competition to see who could get the most bounces in with their stones, Jason pulling out an early lead due to his years with throwing Batarangs, when some villains started raiding the small selection of shops along the front. They were well armed and appeared to be well coordinated. The pair ran with the other civilians on the beach and dived into an abandoned alley when they got the chance. From her duffle Dinah pulled two Kevlar weave shirts and two domino masks, which they both then donned. They climbed the building quickly and then dropped down a couple of buildings over so they could re-join the fray.

Working in harmony Jason and Dinah managed to deescalate the situation and rounded up all the suspects while the police kept people back. They were working with the two people in costume as the situation had been deemed too dangerous by their superiors to approach. Dinah gave a quick report to the officer in charge then they darted away. It wasn’t long before they were back in the alley and turning back into their civilian personas.

Neither had noticed the helicopters above during the incident, of which only one was police. They spent the rest of the trip enjoying themselves and managing to do all that Dinah had planned. As they got back to the penthouse two nights later she noticed the newspapers on their coffee table.

The front page had pictures of the pair of them mid fight; Dinah’s blonde hair flowing as Jason rolled across her back, his foot connecting with one rogue’s face. She hadn’t expected it to make news as it was an everyday occurrence in Gotham, in the small hamlet they’d visited however it was anything but. She tucked Jason into bed with a kiss to his forehead and went off to check her emails. There was one from Bruce which she checked first.

_To: blondebirdy_

_Saw your exploits while you and J were away. Hope you’re both safe._

_Oh also, Queen has been ringing me non-stop since you two hit the news. Please get him off my back! I don’t want to have to bomb him._

_B.Wayne_

She chuckled as she realised he could possibly end up in a third prank war with the green archer in less than a year. The last one had resulted in glue and feathers coating the meeting room of the Watchtower; Ollie’s poor attempt at winning while embarrassing Bruce. All he’d actually managed was to piss off a room full of meta’s with the lightest punishment he received was Dinah using her Canary Cry on him. Diana looked ready to impale him with her sword as the mixture got tangled in her black hair. She switched programmes and settled in for the video call to Ollie.

The ringing ended and his sun-kissed face with messy blonde hair appeared on the screen. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ears and waved at her on-again-off-again partner. She still loved him, she just wished he would be a decent father to both the Roy that was a clone as he tortured himself over his life, and the poor teen that had been taken apart for science and flash frozen. Both deserved him trying to help, but he was too focused on the clone and beating himself up over not noticing the switch. Even all these years later now he’d been found, the seventeen year old boy was free again and the clone was accepting that his friends knew him more than the original, Ollie still couldn’t step up. She glanced over to the slightly open door of her son and felt the beginning ripples of anger over his incompetence. Dinah knew she’d made the right decision coming back to Gotham, now she just needed to deal with Ollie and his continual feud with Bruce.

“So I hear you’ve gotten yourself a sidekick.” Ollie said by way of a greeting. She took a measured breath in and out to push down the anger he always made rise in her.

“No, I have a son who also happens to help when needed. That was the first time we’d been out since he came back into my life.” She quickly checked that the connection was encrypted while waiting for his response. When none came she realised he was going to give her the silent treatment. “It’s Jason, Ollie my little bird is back by some miracle and I’m not letting him go.” She could hear the tremble in her own voice. “I found him on the streets and he remembered me, Bruce, Alfie, and even Dick. He remembered us all but wanted to stay with me. The manor is just,” she ran a hand through her hair. “He called me his mum the other day. It was just before we went to the coast during dinner with his dad and I just…Ollie how you can’t love and cherish those boys of yours as much as Artemis is beyond me? The way it felt to hear him say that, I can’t even put it into words.” Ollie sat back stunned. Of all the things he’d been expecting to come from this call, it wasn’t Dinah taking in Bruce’s dead son and then insulting his parenting.

“You have _no_ idea what you’re talking about! You’ve been a mum for what _three days_ and now you’re starting up an old argument that caused you to act like a little girl and run back home?” He felt himself starting to shake and could hear the thumping of his pulse in his ears.

“I still love you. All we’ve shared, all we’ve done, it still means something to me. I just wanted you to know that Jason will always now be coming first.” She looked over at the door again waiting for those inevitable screams to start. “I should have taken him in long before he ran off to Ethiopia. He always confided in me, reached out to me. I started to want to be his mum long ago; it just took finding him in an alley in Gotham after he died to make it happen.” She could see the quelled rage from the man on the screen and could think of no way to neutralize the situation.

“What do you want me to do? I’m not taking in Bruce’s volatile brat. He’s dangerous Birdy.” He took a sip of the beer she’d not noticed he had. “All of the kids know he is, it’s why they don’t want to work with him!”

“You, Mr Queen, are completely wrong! They didn’t want to work with him because they were all too close to Richard. He convinced them all that he was some violent street kid who isn’t capable of change and stole Robin from him. None of which is what happened!” She tried to take a controlled breath but it was shaky and didn’t do much to quell the fire that was burning within her. The one person who she’d always been able to turn to was insulting her son. They had been passion, fire, burning bright and exploding in a shower of punches and curse words. She’d always been able to depend on him during the big battles the League faced. Now he was ignoring all she was saying about the boy who’d been through too much in his young life. “You didn’t see his face when we went to the aquarium. It was clear he’d never been treated to normal things, things kids usually get to do in life with their parents.” She huffed out a laugh. “It’s because he’s one of Bruce’s boys isn’t it. You and he have always been competitive, it’s ridiculous.” She saw the embarrassment flush his face, knowing she had him. He spluttered, at a loss for words. He didn’t want to admit she was right. Dinah was always a part of his life that Bruce had never had, never got near, and now he had contact and shared a kid with her. He felt like he’d lost to the man again. Realising they weren’t going to get anywhere, and with her finished telling him about their life, she ended the call and shoved the laptop away from her.

The door creaked as Jason pushed it open and slipped through. He made his way over to his mum, his footsteps silenced by the plush pile of the carpet. Dinah already had her arms open for him as he wandered around the sofa to stand in front of her. He could see the silent tears she’d shed since ending the call and wanted to hit himself for causing her that pain. If he’d not asked all he had of her, she could have been with Ollie.

“I-if-if you want,” Jason hiccupped as he sank into her hold, “you can take me back to B so you can go back to him.” She cursed the man once again as she held her son and pressed kissed to his hair. “Nothing will make me give you up my love. I’m sure what you heard me say to him, you calling me mum to Bruce is one of my happiest memories. I love you Jay. You’re my Robin, always were and always will be.” She heard his sob as tears started to soak her t-shirt. The simple reassurances clearly overwhelming him as she remembered his biological mother had given him up to the Joker. She held him tighter and pressed more kisses to his head, murmuring words of love and praise, while he continued to cry. She loved him more than she would ever be able to verbalise and couldn’t understand how Catherine had been the best parent out of his past four when he was such a sweet and caring boy.

The next morning Bruce walked into the board meeting holding the folders that contained that quarters numbers. The meeting was important as he wanted to get more funding for R&D to enable the improvements to tracking technology he had and the other toys Batman used. As everyone settled in for the long meeting he opened the manila folder to get the paperwork out. There was a sudden bang and a shower of glitter as the paperwork exploded. Once the glitter had settled he shook off the folder and saw it’d been a plant by Ollie. He looked up and the heavens and swore that it meant war. The prank war was back on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ollie is a sourpuss!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was difficult to work out. I wanted Roy to come into it as Jason needs a friend. Hope this is good.

Dinah had noticed Jason slipping back down after the glitter bomb incident at the board meeting. She’d catch him looking at the door as if Bruce was going to burst through it and blame him. She wants to help him, she tried talking to him even tried getting Bruce to talk to him and reassure him that it wasn’t his fault. Still the boy is down and refusing to leave the apartment, sometimes even refusing to leave his room. She’d left him clippings of the retaliation Bruce had done to Oliver; giant billboards had been erected around Queen Industries showing Bruce in his suit, showing off how superior working for Wayne Enterprise is over QI. She’d even left him photos of the leaflets for job offers Bruce had printed and thrown all over the QI building, including showing him the video of them raining down during Ollie’s own board meeting. He’d let out a tiny chuckle and went back to not talking. She was starting to forget when she’d last heard his voice, heard him singing in the shower or while they were cooking, heard his joyous laugh echo through the large penthouse. She made a call to the one person she figured could help.

It was late at night when she’d placed the call and hadn’t expected to hear a knock on the door the next morning while she was preparing breakfast. Jason was up before noon for the first time in days so she was making a large stack of pancakes. She’d not missed the twitch he’d done as the knock sounded; suddenly thankful that she’d also called Bruce so the person could get up to the penthouse through WE unhindered. Jason watches her walk to the door and hears a muffled conversation as he gets up to flip the pancake she’d just poured into the pan. He keeps his eyes on the stove as Dinah reappears but doesn’t miss the light footsteps that follow her, the Bat training helping  him figure out that it’s not anyone he knows. His body going tight and his spine straightens; he thinks this is it, this is the moment Dinah is going to do what every mother he’d had before had done and give up on him. He starts to think of all the pleading promises he could give her to beg her to let him stay with her just one more night, the manor is still too scary and imposing.

“Jason,” Dinah’s slightly gruff morning voice calls, trying to pull his attention to her, “I called someone last night who I think will get how you’re feeling.” He pales, had she really called in a therapist, had she really given up on him that much. He’d been able to talk to her, to confide in her, more than he’d ever done with Bruce or Alfred. He turns, expecting to see some harsh looking doctor and instead finds a red-haired boy of a similar age to him. “This is Roy.” Confusion swirls through him. He remembered Dick talking about a Roy but he was a couple of years older than Dick and this kid certainly isn’t, even if he looks almost identical.

“The original one,” Roy says, holding out his hand. Jason notices the glint of metal that makes up his other hand and it just adds more confusion than lessening it. He shakes the offered hand, Alfred’s lessons in manners still firmly embedded in him.

“Uh, you want pancakes?” he manages to stammer out; desperate to be in the loop of whatever it is Dinah has planned. The kid nods and sits at the island. Dinah walks over to Jason and presses a kiss to the top of his head. He feels some of the tension and anxiety leave, surely she’d not show that affection if she were swapping him out he thinks. Jason stays by her side while she takes over the cooking, too unsure of his place to risk leaving her safety.

“Did Dick ever talk to you about his friend Roy?” Dinah suddenly asks, trying to cut the stifling silence. Jason just nods, unsure of his ability to keep his emotions from his voice. “So while you were _away_ we discovered that his Roy is actually a clone. Someone grown by CADMUS, some crazy science thing set up by Luthor. The original,”

“The original and best,” Roy cuts in, a cheeky grin on his face. “Yes, and the best,” Dinah says with a roll of her eyes, “was put on ice and not discovered until Dick’s Roy when searching for him. He’s meant to be older than Dick now but he’s the same age as you.” Jason is still just as confused when she stops speaking. “I’m sorry but what does any of that have to do with him being here?” Jason whispers to her. She can see the fear in his eyes, worried that he was being replaced again. She curses Bruce and makes a note to not help the Justice League stop the spiralling prank war. Ollie had retaliated to the flyers with an obnoxiously loud advert pointing out how Star City isn’t protected by a ‘nut job dressed as a bat’ and therefore superior, that he managed to get into the WE speaker system. It had taken half the day, and Oracle’s help, to finally get the thing to stop.

“Dinah was worried about you because of this whole prank war,” Roy shrugged at him. “You’re not really the cause of that by the way. That was me, Dinah and Oliver were arguing over how he’s not treating me like a son; just some dangerous criminal.” Jason noticed Roy grimace at that and how he seemed to growl out the words. “He just needed an excuse and someone to direct his anger out on, Dinah finds her baby bird and _that prick_ is taking all of it out on Bruce.” Jason slumped a bit and Dinah noticed he was watching her closely. As if reading his mind she spoke. “You weren’t a replacement for me; I’m not going to replace you with Roy. You are my son, Jason. I’ve wanted you to be as such since before you died.” He’d known they were close before and he’d secretly always wanted that but knowing it, hearing it, having Dinah pull him into an almost bone crushing hug made it more real. He melted into the hug and let out all he’d been holding in.

The last couple of pancakes ended up burnt because Jason had ended up sobbing in Dinah’s arms but the trio still sat and ate the rest. Roy even scarfed down the burnt ones, remembering how difficult he’d found finding food sometimes. Dinah sat at the island and watched the two boys wash up. She could see the beginnings of a friendship, tentative positive gestures and them both trying to make the other laugh. She’d originally planned for Roy’s first day with them to involve a trip to Barbara to get his electronic arm checked and upgraded. Now she just wanted a day for them to be silly, act like teens and have some fun.

“Boys, how would you both feel about going to the zoo?” She asked, interrupting their attempts to stack as much washing up on one small section of the draining board. Why one of them wasn’t drying up she didn’t know. Jason turned and grinned at her, she knew he’d been looking forward to going. Gotham Zoo was a Wayne Foundation project that started after Dick joined Bruce. Apparently he’d had a very close upbringing with elephants and Bruce wanted him to know that the elephants in Gotham were just as well cared for. It was set outside the city, in rolling fields that enabled the animals to have large, open habitats while being safe from the Rogues. She took his grin as agreement and got up to take over the washing up so he could go shower.

The zoo was a fantastic day out in the end. Dinah spoiled the boys to anything they want (thanks B for the black card) and they managed to see nearly every animal. Jason had laughed at Roy’s pout as the Giraffes were hiding from a noisy school trip which meant they missed seeing the animals too. Roy had laughed back when Jason had been bitten by a penguin he’d been trying to feed. Jason ended up making some comment about them being ‘just like their human counterpart’ which had Dinah ruffling his hair. When it came to lunch, they stopped in one of the onsite restaurants, both boys choosing large burgers, chips and excessively large milkshakes. She watched them eating and chatting, glad she’d asked Roy to visit. She wandered off while the boys were still eating to adopt a leopard for Jason, a bat for Bruce and, an orangutan for Roy. When she’d gotten back to them she could hear Jason’s barking laugh before she’d even gotten close. It was a sound she’d missed and to hear Roy causing it made affection for him bloom. She could see how much the weight had lifted off her son’s shoulders and, although she knew he wasn’t magically better, she knew he was feeling better than when the whole prank war started.

The boys had been thrilled with their gifts, then falling about the car when Dinah showed them the adoption she’d gotten for Bruce. Jason insisted they take it to him as soon as they were home. He couldn’t hold back a cackle when they showed Bruce his bat. Dinah saw his eyes light up at seeing his son, _their_ son, so open and light. His dad hadn’t missed the big pile of books in Dinah’s arms, which Jason had made them bring down from their home to show Bruce, and the happy smile that was just lighting up his face. He pulled him into a hug, pressing a kiss while telling his middle son he loved him. As they were leaving he promised Dinah he’d text her to get help with his next prank, Roy span back to look at him.

“Jay and I will help too! I’ve got some ideas on how to get back at that Cali dick.” Roy said, hand tightly holding Jason’s who was trying to get away. They’d all seen how he’d tried to curl into himself at the mention of the pranks, thoughts from the morning returning. Before either adult could react Roy had tipped Jason’s head up so he could look him in the eyes, voice earnest. “Jaybird I told you it’s my fault Ollie is pissed off. He’s just taking his frustrations out about Dinah on Bruce because he’s scared of her.” Jason gave a disbelieving half smile so Dinah stepped forward.

“Jay, he knows if he pranks me I’ll just Canary Cry in his garage and _Arrow Cave,”_ she rolled her eyes, “therefore breaking everything.” She slipped her arm over his shoulder; the books now littered about Bruce’s desk, and ruffled his black locks. “You know how petty rich white men are, he’s no exception.” Her statement earned a snicker from Jason and she smiled down at him. He’d grown since coming back and was already easily reaching past her shoulders; she wasn’t looking forward to the day she’d be looking up at her son.


End file.
